Vivian Graham has an acceptance letter into Harvard, a badass tattoo, loyal friends, ties to marijuana, a penchant for Dunkin’ Donuts, and her pesky V-card.

Everyday she takes the Red Line to her job at The Green Pot in Boston while her friends enter the coveted, black iron gates to higher learning. The ramifications from a tragic accident have put her life on hold while time marches on for everyone around her.

After graduating from Harvard Law, Boston native, Oliver Konrad, moves to Portland to start his career and his life. Three years later, after a horrific discovery, he returns home to trade in his three-piece suit for leather work boots and his suburban home for a condo in Cambridge.

All he brought back to the East Coast was an aversion to pillows and secrets he keeps hidden behind a mysterious locked door. Oliver’s days are predictable and his nights are lonely until he meets Vivian on the subway. Her long raven hair, green eyes, and mile-long legs are achingly sexy, but the way she “innocently” fingers and licks her Boston Kreme doughnut can only be described in two words—complete torture.

When their paths cross at every turn, laughter is abundant, friendship is easy, and love is unintentional. However, their future seems improbable.

As Grace will attest, Jewel is known for some angst. She also writes some of the funniest scenes, so when I received this ARC I was preparing myself with the following: making sure my IPad had its cover before I flung it across the room, my prescription for Xanax was refilled and my bottle of Pinot Grigio next to me. I didn’t need the Xanax, but I did need the Pinot and a box of tissues here and there. If you checkout my Goodreads feed while reading Idle Bloom, you know that I was LMAO most of the times. I mean, Jewel really brought the funny. There was some serious shit going on too, not going to lie because, let’s face it, this is Jewel we’re talking about.

I adored Vivian from the very beginning. When Jewel writes a female lead, she doesn’t make her annoying or whiny. Vivian is a drop dead gorgeous femme fatale with a side of sexy geek (who doesn’t like wearing undies). But she’s flawed and I’ll leave it at that.

“Vivian, I swear I’m going to make it my life’s mission to make you see that your brightness blind the sun.”

She meets the ever sexy Oliver on the T while having a food porn moment with a Boston Crème Doughnut. Oliver’s thoughts on said food porn: Seriously, what was that today? Finger fucking her doughnut then sucking it off like she was giving a tutorial on blow jobs? He’s in Boston after living in Portland for three years helping out his brother Chance. Vivian works part-time at the Green Pot and that is where she embarrassingly meets Oliver for the second time.

Oliver is very brooding in the beginning but Vivian brings out something in him he hasn’t had over three years. Of course, let’s not forget the locked bedroom in his apartment. Besides that, the funny back and forth between these two, priceless. All I’m going to say, is the Dunkin Doughnuts moment and the Oliver and Vivian at his parents’ house. I mean lots and lots of funny moments in this book.

“This was a . . . I don’t know, sort of a . . . high five to your ass, like athletes do to each other.”

I cried when finally hearing Oliver’s story and the steps he needed to take for his “closure” and fully be with Vivian, was just heartbreaking.

“You’re the very best thing that’s happened at the very worst time.”

Vivian, gosh, what a freaking strong woman. OMG and her friend Alex, she was also a trip. Vivian’s friend Kai, not a fan of his.

I could go on and on about how much I loved this book, but you have to read it for yourself and feel the emotions throughout. Grace and I have given hell to Jewel and her angst, but she is a wonderful writer and there should be some angst otherwise, there’s not plot. I may have a HUGEEEE crush on Jewel. I hope and pray to meet her soon if she ever does a signing in NYC. Note to Jewel, I’m warning you now, I may tackle hug you to death, just saying. I look forward to many more of Jewel’s books. Hurry up woman!

With 10 years of flossing lectures under her belt, she took early retirement from her dental hygiene career to stay home with her three awesome boys and manage the family business.

After her best friend of nearly 30 years suggested a few books from the Contemporary Romance genre, Jewel was hooked. Devouring two and three books a week but still craving more, she decided to practice sustainable reading, AKA writing.

When she’s not donning her cape and saving the planet one tree at a time, she enjoys yoga with friends, good food with family, rock climbing with her kids, watching How I Met Your Mother reruns, and of course…heart-wrenching, tear-jerking, panty-scorching novels.

Check out the "About" page to see the current reads for all of our reviewers.

About us

Some time ago in a galaxy not so far away . . .
. . . were a group of women who met through Twitter and shared a love a romance books.
Our blog represents a diverse group of Shorties (as we like to call ourselves) with a diverse preference for genres within romance. Although we may be short in stature, the Shorties are big and loud for the love of the written word.